SHANGHAI -- CTA President Gary Shapiro walked a line between hope and disappointment at CES Asia (see 1706070031) Thursday on Trump administration trade policies. In response to our question on what he would like to see on trade, Shapiro said, “We were very disappointed that he pulled out of the Trans-Pacific agreement,” saying the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a “zero-tariff deal among 20 countries.” The administration’s trade stance is “not as terrible as some of us had feared, but it’s not as good as it could be still -- especially with the importance of trade to our future,” Shapiro said.
White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator nominee Vishal Amin faced a largely friendly audience Wednesday at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, with members focusing questions on how Amin would deal with IP issues with China and how he views the balance between combating patent litigation abuse and protecting inventors. Legislators instead scrutinized nominees to DOJ and Department of Homeland Security posts. Amin emphasized his commitment to working on a focused approach to coordinating U.S. IP enforcement strategy and the need to ensure the U.S. IP system remains competitive. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amin, previously House Judiciary Committee senior GOP majority counsel, drew praise (see 1704100067).
President Donald Trump's Thursday notice to Congress that he plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement spurred tech groups to recommend the White House address copyright-related issues in any update of the 1994 deal. NAFTA hasn't changed, “while our economy and businesses have changed considerably,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a letter to House and Senate leaders: “Many chapters are outdated and do not reflect modern standards. For example, digital trade was in its infancy when NAFTA was enacted. In addition, and consistent with the negotiating objectives in the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act, our aim is that NAFTA be modernized to include new provisions to address” IP rights and other issues. The administration can begin renegotiation 90 days after notifying Congress, the White House said. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hailed the move as a sign that “free and fair trade is the new standard for U.S. trade deals.” The Telecommunications Industry Association believes it's a “timely opportunity” to update the agreement “by incorporating new rules of digital trade and related policies that will make internet-based services and other digital products more affordable and accessible,” said Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Cinnamon Rogers: “It is essential to maintain existing elements of the agreement that have contributed to U.S. leadership" in information and communications technology. NAFTA “was negotiated before the emergence of the Internet as an engine for international commerce, and consequently lacks rules protecting and promoting digital trade,” said BSA|The Software Alliance. Any inclusion of a chapter in the renegotiated NAFTA on copyright "must have mandatory language on copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use,” the Re:Create Coalition said.
Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy names Gigi Sohn, also at Open Society Foundations, as a distinguished fellow at the institute ... New to 21st Century Fox: Audrey Cooling, ex-Glover Park Group, as vice president-Global Public Affairs and Policy group; reporting to her is Charlie Greene, ex-Commerce Department, named manager-public affairs and policy ... Computer & Communications Industry Association hires Joshua Landau, ex-WilmerHale, as patent counsel and lead blogger-CCIA’s Patent Progress ... Joining Wikimedia Foundation is Eileen Hershenov, ex-Consumers Union, as general counsel.
The Senate on an 82-14 vote confirmed Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative Thursday (see here), the last of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees to be confirmed, after partisan tensions over a legislative waiver to exempt Lighthizer from a foreign representation prohibition for USTRs complicated his path. Tech groups welcomed the action. Lighthizer (see 1703220015) was an attorney for Skadden Arps from 1985 to 2017, where he represented large U.S. companies and coalitions in antidumping and countervailing duty cases and at the World Trade Organization. He also was deputy USTR 1983-85. Republican Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and John McCain of Arizona earlier this week voiced concerns about the then-nominee. Issuing supportive statements: BSA|The Software Alliance, CTA, the Internet Association and Telecommunications Industry Association.
President Donald Trump signed a cybersecurity executive order Thursday that also aims to jump-start White House efforts to modernize federal IT. The EO mirrored aspects of previous drafts, including those from the original version that direct the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security to assess all federal agencies' cybersecurity risks and required agencies to manage their risk using the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Cybersecurity Framework. The White House ditched its original plan for Trump to sign in January (see 1701310066).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative maintained the 11 countries included on its 2016 mid-tier priority watch list for copyright and other IP rights violations and 23 countries on that year’s lower-tier watch list (see 1604270049) in the same rankings for USTR’s 2017 Special 301 report on the global status of IP rights enforcement. On the 2017 priority watch list: China and India, which perennially appear on that list because of ongoing IP rights enforcement problems. The office again didn't include any countries on its top-tier priority foreign country list.
The Trump administration will start the formal NAFTA renegotiation process after the Senate confirms U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer, said White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. “USTR drives that,” Spicer said. “And so our focus is getting that done, and then we'll be ready to go.” A more detailed work plan for renegotiating NAFTA -- including submittal of the required 90-day notice to Congress before international negotiations can begin in earnest -- will likely materialize after Lighthizer’s prospective confirmation, Spicer said Monday. “But as of right now, that's not there.” Speaking Tuesday to a group of CEOs, President Donald Trump said renegotiating NAFTA will bring "some very pleasant surprises," said a pool report. The Senate Finance Committee postponed its consideration of Lighthizer until after the Senate’s spring break (see 1704070016) ending April 24.
The Senate Finance Committee postponed its vote scheduled to have been Thursday (see 1704050035) on whether to advance U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer for full Senate consideration, a spokeswoman for the committee’s Republican majority said, citing scheduling conflicts among senators. The committee will consider the nomination after a two-week spring break that began when senators left Capitol Hill Friday, the spokeswoman said.
The Senate Finance Committee plans to consider whether to advance to the floor the nomination of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the committee said. In a brief interview Tuesday, ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., continued to assert a legislative waiver is needed to exempt Lighthizer from legal requirements barring individuals who have represented foreign entities from being USTR or deputy USTR (see 1703150027). Wyden said his staff and that of Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are "having conversations" on "how it might be possible to get the necessary waiver. Senate Democrats want Republicans to consider unrelated legislation in exchange for clearing the path for Lighthizer’s prospective confirmation. Hatch said he hopes Senate Democrats drop their "unrelated demands" for Lighthizer's advancement. "Mr. Lighthizer’s nomination has been subject to unprecedented delay and unrelated demands for far too long, and we cannot afford to have this crucial position void of leadership any longer," Hatch said. "Throughout his confirmation hearing he demonstrated a clear vision and dedication to advancing a strong trade agenda, which many of my Democratic colleagues praised."